A barbeque grill is a device for cooking food by applying heat directly below a grill. There are several varieties of grills but most fall into one of two categories, either gas fueled or charcoal. Barbequing is a pervasive tradition in much of the world. Gas fueled grills typically use propane (LP) or natural gas (NG) as a fuel source, with the gas flame either cooking the food directly or heating grilling elements which in turn radiate the heat necessary to cook the food. Grilling has become a popular method of cooking food due to the unique flavors and texture imparted to the food during the grilling process. Grilling can be performed outdoors or indoors using gas.
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. The griddle is most commonly a flat metal plate composed of cast or wrought iron, aluminum or carbon steel. Griddles are commonly heated directly or indirectly by open flame or electrical elements. Using a griddle placed directly on a barbeque grill has also become popular when cooking foods not as well suited for cooking directly on a grill in an open flame. One problem with using a griddle directly on a grill over an open flame is the control of the heating of the griddle cooking surface and when it is desirable to use only a portion of the surface of griddle cooking surface to cook a lesser amount of food on the griddle. In addition it is sometimes desirable to isolate the food being cooked in a container from the direct heat of the grill flame.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,106 to Raymer et al. an easily assembled barbeque grill has a heat distribution plate for more evenly distributing heat from the grill open flame. The Couture U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,091 is a combined unit for cooking, heating and gratinating food. The Cornfield U.S. Pat. No. 7,059,318 is a multi-purpose stovetop grilling and cooking device. The Correa et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,801 is a stove top barbeque for placement over the flame of a gas stove and has a grate like grilling surface. The Leavens et al. U.S. Design Patent No. D581,207 is a barbeque grill plate which appears to have a grate-like surface on one side and a patterned surface on the other side thereof. In my prior U.S. Design Patent No. D604,098 a round grill plate with radially extending arms extending from the outer rim towards the center thereof is shown. My Design Patent No. D594,276 is for a Grill Plate while my Design Patent No. D592,908 is for a Griddle Grate.
The present invention relates to a griddle plate for sitting on a gas grill having an open flame therebeneath which allows adjustments to the temperature of areas of the cooking surface of the griddle plate by using less than all the burners of the grill. Turning the griddle plate over for placement of the flat cooking surface directly onto the grill allows the griddle plate to be used as a container supporting grate for baking or cooking goods that are not otherwise conductive to grilling or cooking on a griddle plate.